


Septimus, Cedrella and Arthur

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - No Magic, F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 02:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18540349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In the medieval era, under King Arcturus Black's rule, not much is happy or hopeful. The forbidden romance between the King's daughter and a farmer boy however is both of those things and more.





	Septimus, Cedrella and Arthur

Arthur Weasley’s birth was, as many things in his life, unexpected. He was the product of a forbidden romance, the son of Cedrella Black and Septimus Weasley. A beautiful dark haired, mysterious woman seen rarely in public due to her father hiding her - and a country farmer. They’d met at her mother - Lysandra’s funeral. The entire kingdom had come to grieve, Septimus had heard that Charis, Cedrella’s sister, was the most beautiful of the three Black children. However, as soon as he saw her he was taken by her. Stoically she had stood, watching her father and sisters pay their respects but staying back when it was her turn. Even in grieving attire she made him weak in the knees. 

Cedrella caught his eyes, having sensed his lingering gaze. Septimus had turned scarlet, turned away but she had smiled, something nobody saw from a family as serious as the Black’s. He thought it was amazing.

She seeked him out after the service, he’d felt uncomfortable, in awe of the powerful, stunning woman before him. They’d chatted anyway, Septimus soon discovered there was little for him to be intimidated by. Apart from her family of course. She was nothing like he’d heard the Black’s were like, she was funny, witty, kind even. He thought that was the last time he’d see her, he was wrong.

A member of the royal guard approached his family’s hut one day - he worried one of them had been caught stealing. His family never had enough to eat, sometimes thievery was the only option - that was of course forbidden in this land though. It was punishable by death. 

When he learned that a princess, Cedrella had asked for his presence at the castle he was shocked. The visit was pleasant, they chatted for hours and they learned about one another. He noticed the freckles that bounced over her nose to her cheeks, he thought they made her pretty. She blushed when he told her that. She admitted to him that she wasn’t supposed to talk to peasant boys, and the guard she’d sent was a trusted friend. Septimus had cocked his head, asked her why she’d risk her guard’s life and her already limited freedom just to talk to him. She shrugged, said she just had a feeling. 

Many conversations took place after that, eventually a friendship turned into a romance. If the King found out then his head would be chopped off his shoulders, probably along with his entire family’s. Somehow, Septimus couldn’t find it in him to care. Everything seemed perfect in his life for once. The constant work didn’t make him tired and self-pitying anymore, the tiny scraps he ate for food no longer seemed to starve him. He was in a trance, a trance of love.

When Cedrella discovered she was expecting, everything changed. Things were not perfect anymore, he was terrified, so was she. If her father found out her head and his would be chopped off their shoulders, so would her friend’s and his family’s. He suggested they run away, she didn’t want to. As horrible as her family could be she genuinely loved her sisters and she couldn’t leave them. Cedrella didn’t call for him for months after that conversation. He figured she was done with him, she would have their baby and hide it away, a scandal not to be shown in public. In two months she hadn’t been outside publicly. It was probably her father’s doing. That was when Septimus started to worry - had Cedrella been killed? Was Arcturus truly that malicious, that cold? 

When she called for him a week later he was beyond relieved but also worried. When he saw her he immediately embraced her, her stomach had swelled to twice as large as it normally was. As he cradled her close he didn’t know how they’d stayed apart. They talked for hours and hours, even discussed names for their child. And then Cedrella told him that her father knew. He knew everything. He planned to marry her to a lord in private, the baby would be kept in hiding until a year or so after Cedrella’s marriage. Then they would announce that Princess Cedrella and her husband were expecting, Septimus and her child would be raised as royalty, with the lord to be his father. Septimus was speechless.

And then she told him, this meeting was forbidden - this was the first time her friend had been able to get him to her. She told him that she wanted to run away. He agreed, they left that night.  
It was hard to get out of the kingdom with such a well known face but she had money and money bought them many things. Food, transportation and a home in a neighboring kingdom ruled by Charlus Potter.

While they didn’t know for sure, Septimus and Cedrella were not expecting the child’s arrival for at least a month. When she went into labor he panicked, called a wet nurse immediately. A healthy baby boy was soon delivered, he inherited his father’s hair and nose but his mother’s freckles and eyes. Cedrella and Septimus named him Arthur, after his grandfather and gave him Septimus’s last name. He was the light of their world. He was unusually strong, catching smallpox at only 6 months but surviving with minor scarring. He was babbling at 9 months and walking in 10. Arthur was well-meaning and kindhearted, just like his mother, except in this new life he could show it. Cedrella had a hard time adjusting to being a farmer’s wife, for they had married mere weeks after Arthur’s birth, and farming was the only livelihood Septimus knew. Still, he treated her like a queen. 

Four years after Arthur’s birth, another son was born - Bilius. He died at three after contracting pneumonia. It devastated the family, Cedrella especially. She grew overly protective over Arthur, disallowing him from going to school. It was hard for Septimus to be there for his wife, she became pregnant again the year after Bilius’s death however continuous working for the farm (that summer was a long drought) led to a miscarriage. Cedrella grew ill, Septimus had to care for her, he would tell stories about the days he would sneak into her castle. They only seemed to make her sadder. Arthur never left her side, constantly trying to cheer her up. He was the only light in her world. The crops in the fields wilted without care and Septimus was reduced to begging on the streets for scraps to feed his wife and son. 

When the news came that the King’s wife had given birth to a son they named James, Septimus fought to keep the information from his wife. Cedrella found out anyway and fell deeper into grieving, she seemed to lose all hope - not even Arthur could bring a smile to her gray face. When she passed away when Arthur was 12, Septimus couldn’t say he was surprised. He buried his grief and focused his attention on his son, he couldn’t leave him an orphan. With hard work and Arthur’s help he raised the crops from the dead and began to make a profit again. Still, when he thought his son was asleep he sobbed for his wife and Bilius and their unborn child. 

Arthur was awoken by his father’s cry’s on more than one occasion, but he kept it to himself. Somehow, Septimus wracked up enough profits by the time his son’s birthday rolled around to hire laborer’s and was making enough profit that he could send his son back to school.

Arthur was behind in a lot having never gone to school, but he remembered some of Cedrella’s reading lessons and caught on fast. He shined with intelligence, Septimus couldn’t believe that it came from him so decided it was from his mother. He was filled with pride for his son and his farming empire seemed to grow and grow, he soon had something like a plantation on his hands. 

When Arthur returned from school one day his father took him aside and told him with a heavy heart that he was sending him to a boarding school. Arthur was shocked and Septimus explained it was what his mother would’ve wanted, a fine sixteen year old such as himself should be nourished with knowledge and where he was sending him would surely boost his intelligence. It was three kingdom’s away but considered the best school in the land, it was extraordinary that Septimus had been able to pay the fee.

So Arthur was sent by horseback away from the familiar farm and home he knew so well and towards a strange land and school that his father had called “Hogwarts”. He wondered to himself why this was considered such a marvelous place. He’d mentioned the name to his friends and they’d all been shocked, Hogwarts had a reputation.

Apparently, King Charlus even planned to send his son there when was he was of age. Arthur decided to do what his father had told him to: think of it as an adventure.


End file.
